Psychiatrist of Isla Vista Killer Revealed to be Medical Director for LA County DCFS

Guns Save Lives is not supported by ads and is ran as an independent project. If you support this project please consider supporting us on Patreon. Registration takes just a moment and even $1 is a massive help in continuing our work. Thank you so much.

In his rambling, disconnected from reality manifesto that is nearly 140 pages in length, Isla Vista mass killer Elliot Rodger revealed that at least one of the mental health professionals he had seen was Dr. Charles Sophy.

Sophy is somewhat of a celebrity, having authored a book in 2010 and having appeared on several television shows ranging from news programs to reality television. According to his Wikipedia page,

He recently published his first book, Side By Side The Revolutionary Mother-Daughter Program for Conflict-Free Communication, Harper Collins, 2010.

He first appeared on national television for PBS in the show A Place of Our Own, and subsequently on other shows on several networks, including as Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Sober House, Today Show, Larry King Live, The Rachael Ray Show, Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper 360°, Headline News, Inside Edition, CBS Early Show, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Flipping Out.

He apparently has celebrity clients including Paris Hilton.

However, according to Psych Watch, a website which documents issues with mental health professionals,

Radar has discovered that Dr. Charles Sophy, the psychiatrist that visited Paris Hilton in jail and aided with her initial release, is neither the UCLA professor his website claims he is, nor the board-certified M.D. he’s reputed to be. (Not that anyone could tell by reading his press, which often cites him as an M.D.)

Sophy is actually a D.O., or Doctor of Osteopathy. Though osteopaths are still considered licensed doctors in America (not, however, in Europe) and Sophy serves as the legitimate medical director of the L.A. County Department of Family and Child Services, he does not seem eager to tout his full credentials…

…Even more suspect, Dr. Sophy, who often appears as an expert on PBS and Fox News, claims to hold an Associate Clinical Professorship at the University of California, Los Angeles, Neuro-Psychiatric Institute—which he does not.

Instead, according to academic officials at UCLA, Sophy is merely a volunteer clinical instructor. “This is an entry-level position at best,” the source tells Radar. “He cannot claim himself to be a professor here by any means.”

The same Wikipedia page also says, “He serves as the Medical Director for the County of Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services.

“He’s a guy who is preoccupied. I think the county comes second. Why is he involved in all this outside work when he has a house that is not in order at DCFS?” asked Aubrey Manual, president of a local foster parent association.

Sophy and the executive team in charge of the Department of Children and Family Services have come under repeated criticism for systemic breakdowns that contributed to the fatalities of children under their supervision. Sophy’s unit has been specifically faulted in some of those deaths, and Supervisor Gloria Molina harshly scolded him in a closed-door meeting this year, according to officials familiar with the exchange.

Specifically, the department has been faulted for slow progress implementing a legal settlement that requires it to dramatically improve care for thousands of mentally ill children requiring intensive treatment.

In 2012, Dr. Sophy was criticized by Nancy Grace over an incident involving the death of a young child when the boy was handed back over to his unstable mother, who ended up killing the boy and hiding his body despite protests from the boy’s other family members.

We have not independently verified the information above, but just some food for thought…